Mining machine with selectively retainable loading apron



April 8, 1969 J. MEIS SNER ET AL 3,437,382

MINING MACHINE WITH'SELECTIVELY RETAINABLE LOADING APRON FiledMarch v,1967 Sheet 4 of s W I I Q fin Ll.

- =1 INVENTORS. 7' JOHANNES MEISSNER cusmv BOCKAU SIEGFRIED REIKE MATTORNEY April 8, 1969 J. MEISSNER L April 8, 1969 .1. MEISSNER ET ALMINING MACHINE WITH SELECTIVELY RETAINABLE LOADING APRON Sheet FiledMarch 7, 1967 INVENTORS.

JOHANNES MEISSNER GUSTAV BOCKAU BY SEIGFRIED REIKE ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent Int. Cl. E21c 2 7/42, 27/38 US. Cl. 299-56 4 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This patent discloses a machine for miningcoal or the like of the kind that comprises a chassis movable on themine floor, a machine body set on the chassis, a cutter head positionedat the free end of an arm swivel-mounted in the machine body for bothhorizontal and vertical movement, a gathering apron for taking upcrushed mineral loosened by the action of the cutting head, and conveyormeans for transporting to the rear of the machine the loosened metal oretaken up by the gathering apron. In a machine of this kind, this patentdiscloses the improvement that is obtained by having the cutter head andits associated arms mounted for movement longitudinally of the machine,so that a greater quantity of mineral can be loosened with the machinestanding in one position, and at the same time providing a loading apronthat is mounted for movement in the horizontal, i.e., pivoted about avertical axis and anchorable, preferably by means of hydraulic jacks, ineach horizontal position, so that the loading apron may be broughtdirectly under the arm bearing the cutter head, thereby improving theposition of stability of the machine. This patent further discloses theuse of a stop, operable when the arm bearing the cutter head is in afully retracted position, to prevent the cutter head from coming intocontact with the gathering apron.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS None.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates to machines for mining coal or like minerals, and in particularto such machines which have a chassis, a machine body mounted on suchchassis, an arm bearing a cutter head universally swivel-mounted formovement in the horizontal and the vertical, a gathering apronpositioned in the vicinity of the mine floor to take up the mineralloosened by the action of the cutter head, and conveyor means for movingto the rear the mineral loosened by the action of the cutting head.

Description of the prior art Mining machines are known that are operableon a level surface and work free-standing upon the mine face withcutting heads thereon, both home upon swivelmounted arms, and loosen theminerals there standing. The materials thus caused to fall are gatheredup by the mining machine with the aid of a loading apron, which lieswith its forward end upon the mine floor and rises ramp-wise to therear. Two hydraulic jacks in the region of the edge of the ramp underthe loading apron, fix the position with respect to the height of theloading apron, which is swiveled about an axis which runs transverse tothe direction of travel of the machine, while two transport devices arearranged upon the apron and lead the loosened material over the loadingapron on to a conveyor belt running to the rear.

Moreover, there are also in the prior art machines, the universallyswivel-mounted arm of which that bears the cutter head is movable withrespect to the machine position or with respect to the equipment formoving the machine.

One drawback of machines of the kind having a movable cutter headmounted at the end of an arm that is universally swivel-mounted toprovide for both vertical and horizontal movement is that, fromconsiderations of machine stability, it has generally been necessary tolimit the area worked upon by the cutter head, in both the horizontaland the vertical, in such fashion that, at best, a passage barely wideand high enough to permit passage of the mining machine is produced. Itis advantageous, of course, to provide machinery such that the cuttinghead may move sideways sufiiciently that of the mine passageway producedby the operation of the machine is sufiiciently broader than the machineitself to allow workmen access to the forward parts of the machinewithout the necessity of withdrawing the machine from the minepassageway in which it is working. It is understandable, moreover, thata cool-mining machine of the type described above that has a loadingapron that is not pivoted for movement about a vertical axis isnecessarily limited to the production of such a relatively narrow minepassageway, there being danger of having the machine tip over if the armbearing the cutter head is moved laterally to such an extent that itlies an appreciable distance to one side or another of the loadingapron. Difiiculties of the kind indicated above are exacerbated if thearm bearing the cutter head is extensible longitudinally with respect tothe body of the mining machine. It is desirable, moreover, to providethat the arm bearing the cutter head be so extensible, in order that itmay be possible to work upon a substantially larger volume of mineralswithout being required to activate the transport means to move themining machine forward in the passage that it is creating.

It has also not been hitherto appreciated that, in mining machines ofthe kind described above, the machine may damage itself if, when the armbearing the cutter head is fully retracted, that arm is lowered to suchan extent that the cutter head begins to bear upon the loading apron.The instant invention provides means for overcoming this difiiculty.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a machine for miningcoal or the like of the kind that comprises a chassis movable on themine floor, a machine body set on the chassis, a cutter head positionedat the free end of an arm swivelmounted in the machine body and for bothhorizontal and vertical movement, a gathering apron for taking upcrushed mineral loosened by the action of the cutting head, and conveyormeans for transporting to the rear of the machine the loosened metal oretaken up by the gathering apron. In a machine of this kind, this patentdiscloses the improvement that is obtained by having the cutter head andits associated arms mounted for movement longitudinally of the machine,so that a greater quantity of mineral can be loosened with the machinestanding in one position, and at the same time providing a loading apronthat is mounted for movement in the horizontal, i.e., pivoted about avertical axis and anchorable, preferably by means of hydraulic jacks, ineach horizontal position, so that the loading apron may be broughtdirectly under the arm bearing the cutter head, thereby improving theposition of stability of the machine. This invention further relates tothe use of a stop, operable when the arm bearing the cutter head is in afully retracted position, to prevent the cutter head from coming intocontact with the gathering apron.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A complete understanding of the inventionmay be obtained from the foregoing and following description thereof,taken together with the attached drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view of a mining machine in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of said mining machine;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows in detail the operation of a hydraulic jack upon theloading apron of a mining machine in accordance with the instantinvention;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line V-V of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation View of the machine body, in which onlyselected parts are shown.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMB ODIMENT The mining machine of theinstant invention consists essentially of the transport means A, themachine body B arranged on said transport means, the cutting headassembly C, the gathering apron D, and the discharge conveyor E.

In the selected example of the practice of the invention, the transportmeans A is furnished with two crawler tracks 1, which are driven byseparately controlled hydraulic motors (not shown). The bridge 2 thatjoins the two transport means parts together bears a movable ring 4,pivotable about a vertical axis 3, the ring 4 having on its upper sidetwo pieces 5, one on each side of the machine body B. These pieces 5hold the ends of a horizontal axis 6 of the machine body B, each in abearing, which by means of the hydraulic jacks 7 may be shifted againstthe piece 8 of the fixtures 5. Two double-acting extensible hydraulicjacks 9, which press with their piston rods on the parts 10 arranged inthe ring 4 and are themselves affixed on the parts 11 of the transportdevice A, bring about pivotal movement in the ring 4.

The machine body B is formed of the drive motor 12, the supporting drive13, and the arm 14 having the cutting head assembly C. While the twohydraulic jacks 9 effect the motion of the machine body B about thevertical axis 3 of the ring 4, the double-acting extensible hydraulicjacks 15 produce pivotal movement around the horizontal axis 6, and holdthe machine body B at the desired elevation. To this end, they bear upona cross piece 16 arranged on the arm 14 and are supported with theirends on the side pieces 17 of the fixtures 5 located in pieces 8.

The cutter head assembly C, which consists of a round, tapered cuttinghead, can be driven at two speeds. As the cutter head piece has cuttingpieces both on its mantel face and on its side faces, it is capable,because of its universally swivel-mounted position with respect to themachine body 2, of striking the mine face in a working pass, withoutchange in the position of the mining machine, and can thereby with theaid of the two hydraulic jacks 7 drive into the mineral about the lengthof the stroke of said jacks 7. The material thereby loosened and fallingupon the mine floor is taken up by the loading apron D and is led, withthe help of the two gathering arms 18, provided with an overload device,to the conveying means 19. The latter extends substantially over thelength of the loading apron D and is located with its middle between thetwo gathering arms 18. It obtains its drive motion from the two motors20, which are located at its posterior end and which each operate upon asupporting drive 21 formed as a worm drive on the conveyor return and,moreover, which each operate to drive the gathering arms 18 by means ofa shaft 22. The forward edge of the gathering apron D lies on the minefloor, but also the gathering apron D slopes gently downwardlysidewardly from both sides of the conveying means 19 and is cut offthere at a boundary slope or angle with the mine floor in regionsparallel to the side walls of the passage being produced. The gatheringapron D, which is pivotable about the vertical axis 23 with the aid ofthe two hydraulic jacks 24, is thus able, by its horizontal pivotalmovement, also to take up coarse mineral over its side slopes.

For convenience, it is recommended that the gathering apron D be builtof several parts. In the working example shown, the gathering apron thusconsists of the conveying means 19, on the side walls of which thelateral apron parts a are housed. The two double-acting extensiblepressure cylinders 24 and also the double-acting extensible hydraulicjack 26 are all attached to a bracket 25 located on the underside of theloading apron D. While the two laterally located hydraulic jacks 24 aresupported with their posterior ends universally swivel-mounted on bridge2 of the transport means A, the backward end of the middle hydraulicjack 26 is positioned between two pieces 27 of the yoke 28 pivotableabout a horizontal axis 29. Above this axis 29 there is placedlikewisein the yoke 28-the horizontal shaft 30, which gives the gathering apronD the necessary freedom of movement in the vertical. The horizontalshaft 30 joints over the yoke 28, both of whose legs grip the verticalpivot axis 23, the gathering apron D with the bridge 2 of the transportmeans A. As the loading apron D is universally pivotable with the twohydraulic jacks 24 around the vertical axis 23 with the help of thesetwo hydraulic jacks 24 and also of the hydraulic jack 26 around thehorizontal axis 29, the gathering apron can not only be raised from themine floor but also can be lowered below the level of the mine floor,and moreover, be pivoted over the entire breadth of the mine passagebeing produced. The hydraulic jack 26 located in the center planebeneath the gathering apron D, which relates to the height position ofthe gathering apron D, holds or leads the gathering apron in itshorizontal pivotal movement in the established movement plane existingat the moment, as in the movement period the two hydraulic jacks 24producing the pivotal movement in the horizontal are not able to servethis purpose. As a consequence of the longitudinally shiftable positionof the machine body B, the gathering apron D may be taken up to the mineface and thus the loosened crushed mineral may be taken up from the minefloor without leaving any residue. In this withdrawn position of thecutting head C, the vertical movement region of the machine body B isbounded by a stop pin, such as will be later shown and described, inorder to prevent the cutting head from being lowered unintentionallyonto the loading apron D.

A discharge conveyor E lying between the two crawler tracks 1 of thetransport means A grasps the posterior return end of the conveyor means19 and gives up the crushed mineral at its posterior end to a separatelycontrolled, unshown means conveying the coal or other minerals furtherdown the mine passage. The discharge conveyor E is also shown as aconveyor, the discharge end of Which is positionable as to height aboutthe axis 32 as a result of the linked endless chain 36 and thedoubleacting extensible hydraulic jack 31. Also, the discharge end can,by means of the double-acting extensible hydraulic jacks 33, be pivotedabout the vertical axis 34, and thus, both the position and the heightof the conveyor means for conveying the coal along the mine passage canbe suitably matched. Two drive motors 37 are arranged on opposite sidesof the discharge conveyor E in the vicinity of their posterior ends,which motors are provided with suitable drives operating on thedischarge conveying means E.

The housing 35, which is mounted on the two parts 11 of the transportmeans A, contains the fluid pumps necessary for the production ofhydraulic pressure, the electric motor required for driving these pumps,the fiuid reservoir, and also the hydraulic and electrical controlapparatus. With the help of the so-positioned fiuid pumps, both thehydraulic motors that drive the transport means A and also all of thehydraulic jacks of the mining machine are provided with suitable fluidpressure.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-section of the loading apron D.

The gathering arms 18 are here extended and thus the drive 40 of thegathering arms is shown.

In FIG. -6 is shown the machine body B with the cutter head assembly C,which is arranged on the arm 14. The cutter head is shown in solid linesin its horizontally furthest retracted position. It bears at its rearend an end piece 32, upon which is located a boss 39. On this boss therebears, in certain circumstances, a pin 41, connected to thepiezoelectric switch device 38.

Indicated in dotted lines is a diagonal position of a cutting head, inwhich only the cutter head and the end piece 42 are seen. By the switchdevice 38, in combination with the pin 41 and the boss 39, the cuttinghead C is prevented then in its furthest retracted position fromentering the region of the loading apron D (disclosed in part in FIG.6).

While it must be possible, when the arm 14 is in a further extendedposition, to work with the cutter head assembly C in -a lower position,even down to the mine floor, when the cutting head C is in its furthestretracted position, it can be moved downwardly only to the horizontal,as is shown in FIG. 6, before further downward motion of the cutter headC is stopped by reason of contact with the boss 39 with the pin 41 ofthe switch device 38.

While we have shown and described herein certain embodiments of ourinvention, we intend to cover as well any change or modification thereinwhich may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

We claim as our invention:

1. A mining machine that is movable upon the mine floor and with itscutter head, borne on a universally swivelable arm, works infree-standing manner the mine face and takes up the mineral therebyloosened with the help of a loading apron that has a forward end thatlies upon the mine floor and that rises rampwise toward its rear, theangle of repose of the loading apron being adjustable by means of apressure cylinder about an axis that is horizontal and runsperpendicularly with respect to the mine passage, therein distinguished,that the arm bearing the cutter had is movable with respect to and inthe direction of said mine passage and is retactable to a positionbehind the forward end of said loading apron, and that the loadingapron, height-positionable about the said horizontal axis, is pivotabletogether with its said axis and horizontal pressure-cylinder pivot axesabout a machine axis that is vertical and located centrally of saidmachine, said loading apron being selectively retainable in each workingposition by means of a pressure cylinder operating thereon.

2. A mining machine according to claim 1, therein distinguished, thatits loading apron and its transport means are joined together by meansof a U-shaped yoke that grasps with its two legs a horizontal pivot axislocated on said transport means and contains on the rear surface of itscrosspiece two vertical pieces provided with first and second horizontalpivot axes lying one above the other, between which the loading apron,pivotable about the first and upper one of said axes, is connected withits rear end to a piece and a pressure cylinder pivotable about thesecond of said axes, and that upon both sides of said last-namedpressure cylinder there are positioned on said transport meansadditional pressure cylinders that with their piston rods are connected,diagonally with respect to the longitudinal axis of the machine, to saidloading apron.

3. A mining machine as defined in claim 2, therein distinguished, thatthe loading apron is provided, between a pair of gathering arms, with anindividual chain conveying means that extends only over the length ofsaid loading apron, said conveying means together with said gatheringarms being driven by means of two motors that are arranged to eitherside of the rearward point of reversal of said conveying means.

4. A mining machine as defined in claim 3, therein distinguished, thatsaid loading apron slopes downwardly to both sides away from saidconveying means and rests with its side slopes upon the mine floor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,691,513 10/ 1954 McElhattan29964 FOREIGN PATENTS 120,483 1959 U.S.S.R. 123,914 1959 U.S.S.R.

ERNEST R. PURSER, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 19810; 29964

